Domestic violence, substance addiction and schoolyard bullying does happen in Cochrane.

With November being National Prevention of Violence month, different local organizations would like to see Cochrane residents recognize the problem and work as a community to stop the cycle of abuse.

Const. Norman Mercier, a member of the Cochrane RCMP general investigation team who also has specialized training in domestic violence cases, said domestic violence reports are increasing in Cochrane over the years.

He said this is mostly due to awareness of getting help, as opposed to more cases.

They also tend to see more cases in Morley and the rural areas.

“But stats never show how prevalent it is because there are usually about 30 occurrences before it gets reported to police,” said Mercier, adding the abuse usually escalates with each incident.

From 2007-2008, Mercier said there was 18 reported cases of spousal abuse in Cochrane.

He said in Cochrane, with no access to domestic violence courts, the cases are then in the regular system. He said Cochrane RCMP are currently meeting with other organizations to discuss the need of domestic violence courts where domestic violence can be better addressed.

For now, Mercier said the best thing for victims of violence is know that they are not alone and there is help. He also said parents should know that domestic violence has severe affects on their children, so getting help is important.

He said  there are many ways to get help: filing for the Protection Against Violence Act at the Court of Queen’s bench for protection without police involvement, calling police, getting educated online, or an emergency protection order.

He said there are other agencies, such as Victim Services, that can be of help.

One of those is Alberta Health Services (AHS) Addiction and Mental Health counselling, formerly known as AADAC.

“We certainly see (abuse) happen frequently,” said Jim Arnett, an AHS addiction counsellor in Cochrane. “And many times we see family violence and addiction go together.”

He would also like to see Cochrane have a domestic violence court so abuse issues  get addressed rather than getting lost in regular court.

Arnett said over the last few years AHS has been getting together with members of the justice system, addiction counsellors, and mental health workers to address the problem.

They also make sure a victim of abuse has a safe plan while they try to break the cycle with them.

After a provincial task force recognized in 2007 huge needs they put together a list of recommendations under what is called the Safe Communities Initiative.

The program offers outreach for youth, mental health programs, a program that fights family violence, mobile services, and addiction counselling in town.

Arnett said in a small town like Cochrane abuse can often be a stigma that victims don’t want others to find out about, but most programs are sensitive to that fact and as awareness of the issues expands he hopes the community can stand up to perpetrators of abuse and say “we won’t accept it.”

He also said youth education with the purpose of prevention of addiction and violence is a key strategy.

“But we don’t abandon those who are already in the cycle,” he said.

According to the Statistic Canada report entitled Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile 2005, Alberta has the highest rate of reported domestic violence with 10 per cent of women and seven per cent of men experiencing spousal abuse, which is above the national average of seven per cent of Canadians 15 years of age and over.

Arnett said while drinking and drug use do not cause violence, research shows a close relationship between substance abuse and incidents of violence with 60 per cent of the partners of people with serious substance problems reporting violence in the past year.

If you have concerns about domestic violence or substance abuse, please contact Arnett at  his Cochrane Office at at 403-932-4765.

No related stories.

• Filed under Community | Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments are closed.